40 Under 40

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Welcome to Fortune’s 2018 40 Under 40, our annual ranking of the most influential young people in business. Read on to meet these disruptors, innovators, rebels and artists—and prepare to be inspired.
Click here to read The Ledger 40 Under 40 list.

Arlan Hamilton, 37

Founder and Managing Partner, Backstage Capital

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Rch Fury—Getty Images for Girlboss

Four years ago, Hamilton was living out of a hotel room she shared with her mother. Today she’s a VC who has deployed some $4 million across 100 companies led by underrepresented founders (including Blendoor, our No. 34) through her venture firm. She’s also raising an added $36 million to invest exclusively in startups founded by black female entrepreneurs. (She’s calling it the “It’s about damn time fund.”) Hamilton aims to close the funding gap for women of color, who receive only 0.2% of total VC dollars—and others are taking note.